104 IIOUN EXPEDITION — NAUKATIVE. 



As wc t'olluwecl up the Rcdbaiik towards the uiountuiiis the Vwd iiairovvcd 

 and the. rocks cl'iscd in on either side until we came to a deep jiuul lying at the 

 entrance to a gorge, which was not more than six feet wide. 



For halt' a mile this gorge which is nothing mcjre than a zig-zag cleft cuts its 

 way right through the range. Its nai-row Ijed is Idled with water, deep and 

 intensely cold and on luther side the I'ed jagged rocks of tjuartzite rise precijiitously 

 for se\erai hundred feet. In contrast to the open valley and plain acioss which 

 the ri\er Hows as soon as it has forced its way through the mountain, the dei'p 

 cleft with its still waters and its rocky sides forms a most impressive sight. 



Some idea of the nature of this goige may be gained from the illustration 

 which is reproduced from a photograph taken at mid-day during the short interval 

 of time when it is lighted \\\>. It is of course impossible in a photograph to give 

 any aihquate lepreseutatiou of a scene which depends for its effect upon rocks 

 brilliant led in colour, a deep rock-pool and a cleft through which can be seen a 

 narrow strip of bright blue sky. 



Such goi'ges of which this is perhaps the narrowest and most confined form 

 one of the most striking features of the McDonnell Range across which they 

 always run from north to south. In all probability they own their origin to the 

 fact that the streams which now tlow through them wei'e able to keep pace with 

 the gradual elevation of the mountain ridge, the streams wearing out the gorges 

 as the land I'ose. In some eases as in those of the Palmer River already referred 

 to, and still more strikingly shown in the ease of the great winding gorge through 

 which the Finke Hows in its passage across the James Range tlu'y may Ije many 

 miles in length. 



They alrerd the only means of traversing the ranges which run continuously 

 from east to west as the rocks are far too steep and jagged for the passage of 

 horses and camels. Sometimes after' a heavy rainfall the water will scour out 

 the bed of the gorge and transfoini it from a dry track into an impassable 

 water-hole. 



It is upon the shady sides of these gorges that many of the most characteristic 

 Larapintine plants, that is those of the Higher Steppes have found shelter, and 

 it is in them also that the water-holes are really permanent and here also unist 

 live the fish which in times of flood are carried away to the south to stock the 

 water-holes along the rivers which lise in the McDonnell Range and flow south 

 across the Lower Steppes. 



